{documenting enchantment}

Highlands Church Scottsdale Arizona Wedding

22 February 2010

Jessica and Stan got married in October at Highlands Church in Scottsdale, Arizona. They live in Nashville, Tennessee now. They started dating when they both lived in New York. And they got married in here in Arizona where Jess's family lives. Ah, I do wish Jess and Stan lived here...or that Nashville was a little closer. :)

I loved how Jessica's wedding was Jessica's vision. She took the theme of Love Birds and her love of the color red and mixed it with a glamourous 1950's vibe and created an event that was a awesome experience for her guests that totally reflected her personality and style. It was interesting hearing Jessica talk before the wedding when Becky and I went out to eat at La Grande Orange with them about how all the details of the wedding were coming together. It was a DIY wedding and Jessica and her mom put in a lot of time coming up with details. Jessica's dad and brothers pitched in too. Her dad drove up to the mountains to a burned forest and found the tree branches that Jessica used to hang red balls of flowers from. Jessica's shoes are third over (next to the baby shoes) and she got them at a flea market in New York.

We ended up in the children's nursery for some photos. At her own church, Jessica had been painting a mural for the children's nursery, so I thought it was kinda fun to take these in front of the mural in the kid's nursery where she was getting married. I also liked that there were pumpkins in the mural because it was October, the month for pumpkins!

It was really pretty hot that day, so we stayed indoors for photos of the bridemaids and after we had done photos, Jessica got out of her dress and went back to the church dressing room to enjoy some relaxing time before the ceremony and all the festivities would begin. I love this image Becky got of Jessica having something sweet to drink.

Even babies got place cards at Jessica and Stan's wedding!

Hey Stan! Here comes your gorgeous bride! :)

Love these trees that Jess created with the wood from a burned out forest.

Red velvet cupcakes for the wedding cake? Yes, please!

These images below are from after Jessica and Stan left. These kids pitched in a ton to help set the wedding up.

06 November 2009

Jessica and Stan planned for their rehearsal dinner to take place the evening before their wedding. They had friends and family flying in from all over the country and that night the bridal party convened at Highlands Church in Scottsdale for the rehearsal. All Jessica's bridesmaids showed up in the prettiest summer dresses, because while it was October, the night air was still warm and perfect for hanging around outside and enjoying the evening. Jessica herself wore a red dress with a red flower in her hair. Becky and I had met up with Jessica and her parents to look at the venue back in June, so I kind of knew what to expect. I was just excited to get to see the friends and family that Jessica had talked about back when we first met her at a coffee shop to discuss photographing her wedding.

Jessica's pastor led the wedding party through what to expect for the wedding the next day and then in a time of prayer. After that everyone stood around laughing and catching up and then soon we headed back to her parent's house for the rehearsal dinner. Once in the summer, Jessica had invited me to an event with her church at her house and I was looking forward to going back to her house, because it is such a warm and beautiful home. Before I left to go to Jessica's parents' house though I noticed the sunset. It was amazing. Purple and orange and on fire. I drove up the road from the church into the desert and pulled over and took a few photos until the sun disappeared from the sky and you could start to see stars and the twinkling city lights below. Highlands Church is on land that is elevated and overlooks the valley with the natural desert surrounding it and Pinnacle Peak is in the background. Definitely a very lovely location!

Back at Jessica's parents' house, there was delicious Mexican food for all the guests to eat. Mmmm, it was so good. Jessica and her family had decorated with red details and candles and red and white lanterns. Jessica had created favor bags with red Love birds stamped on them. It was just such a cozy atmosphere with a fire burning and marshmallows to roast. At one point, I sat near the fire and some of the young guests (the boy pictured above and some other kids) offered to help me make s'mores since I had my hands full with my camera. Now I am pretty convinced that every rehearsal dinner should have s'mores!

Jessica and Stan, your rehearsal dinner was such a sweet start to your wedding celebration and I was so glad to be there to document it!